Anyone here trade stocks during the day? I've recently taken an interested in the stock market to try and make some of my money grow rather than collect .025 % interest in my checking account. I bought one stock 6 months ago that ended up making me a 2200% return and that has me hooked. I know it's a risky thing to do, but I only trade with my "extra" money. Any else into the stock market and trading stocks on their own?
I trade about once a week (I have multiple stocks not trading with just one stock ), but im not really "trading stocks on my own" since I have to pay a commission fee.
I stop trading years ago, but now I blog about stock market algorithms and artificial intelligence. If you are interested in stock market chart patterns check it out. I found that I am not psychologically cut out for trading, but really enjoy the analysis.
What I meant by trading stocks on your own was that you do it without a broker, you do your own research online, and you make your own decisions.
I have a good amount in stocks, although it's to the point that I don't invest individually anymore. It's all managed by guys that know what they are doing. So they decide what and when to trade. It's also flat management fee, so there are no per trade charges so you don't have to worry about them trading just for commissions. Best thing to do is diversify... that way you don't have the huge up/down swings. You end up with steady long-term growth.
75% of mutual funds run by the big professionals get beat by the S&P 500 every year. And these guys get paid millions. So don't count on beating the markets I invest some money on my own with Etrade, but not in a very active way. I mostly buy mutual funds, ishares (these things kick ass, they trade like a stock, charge like .035% management fee, and represent major stock indexes. IVV is the one that's based on the S&P 500 index). Ishares are a great way for individual investors to diversify their holdings and do dollar-cost-averaging. I own a few individual stocks, but I don't think it's a good thing for most investors to do (buy stocks on their own). Even though I was a licensed stockbroker for a while, and actively follow the markets, I still don't trust myself to do too much stockpicking. Too risky, and it's basically a full time occupation.
Agreed... stay away from mutual funds. The stuff I get is just portfolio management. Runs about 0.005% per year, and after all costs are taken into account, they have done pretty well for me (13% gain after all expenses in the last 6 months). As an example, my 5 biggest holdings are (in this order): Amylin Pharmaceuticals Apple Computer Las Vegas Sands UBS Goldman Sachs Group
We invest in mutual funds. There are some excellent funds out there and some do not over charge. Whenever we trade stocks, almost always lose money. I used to be an export grain trader, so I like things that can be analyzed based on hard data. For me, stocks are mostly smoke and mirrors. The only thing I learned as a trader is there are two types, pros and amateurs. Pros eat amateurs. Never forget the truism about trading -- the best way to make a small fortune is to start with a big fortune.
I've been stock trading for three years now. You can do well with it if you take some time and read about how to trade, how to read charts, and how to practice money management. One book I suggest to you is "Come Into My Trading Room" by Dr. Alexander Elder. It's a book I read and reread constantly. I currently use Scottrade and I'm happy with them (7 dollars in and out of a trade). Most people get killed by the market because they don't understand a few key principles. Once you understand and practice those principles, you can do well.
I'm a professional trader, I have traded the stock market for nearly 30 years, the money from trading has bought me a very nice lifestyle, beautiful home, put the kids through college ,blah blah blah. I used to trade online in the 80ies using a commodore 64 computer and a 24k modem Even way back then I had access to the same platforms as the stockbrokers and it didn't cost anything, not like today. If I hadn't stumbled into trading I hate to think where I would be now. Probably down the bottom of the heap. After all those years trading I have made all the mistakes, most more than once . I can however reveal the traders Holy Grail and it's very simple. Get a program with a system (it doesn't really matter what system you use, just make sure it has a stoploss built in) and trade by the rules of that program, if it says buy, then buy...if it says sell then sell. Don't try and pre-empt or try and tweak the program. Cut your losses and let your profits run. Doing this you only need to have a winning trade 7 times out of 10 and you will do better than break even. It sounds easy but it actually isn't which is way so many people fail at trading. Our emotions and egos get in the way and we let our losses go way past the point where we should have sold. We second guess the program figuring we can make a few extra $ by buying before a signal is given or letting it run past the sell signal. That works sometimes so you do it more often and get burnt. The hardest thing is selling when you are losing money, emotions get in the way, you always think it will turn around. People who trade on Fundamentals are the worst at doing this, they have done their homework and think that just because they have worked out the value of the stock then it has to be right and the market has got it wrong. The market is never wrong the price is set by the market and thats it nothing else matters. I trade using technical analysis and it has always worked for me ... fundamentals mean nothing, companies hide the bad news and make the good news look better than it is. Thats a good move Shawn, it's a lot easier buying and selling other peoples shares, the emotion isn't in every trade. Their is a lot of trust involved though. Here is a sound piece of advice from a trader who made millions trading >>>He actually forbids his brokers from talking to him because he did not want emotion to play into his decisions. He wanted to let the technical action speak for itself which worked out fabulously for him. There is also an important message to learn from this.<<< Just make sure there are a couple of oilers and energy stocks in your portfolio for the long term, pick the right ones now and you won't have to worry about your retirement However you should set aside a bit of play money and try a few trades yourself, it can be fun and can really get the adrenalin flowing. Just as invigorating as driving the Hummer down the freeway at 150mph in heavy traffic, something I have done many times in a similar vehicle I am actually changing one of my sites around and turning it into a stockmarket Information site, it should be ready next week but it will be a work in progress for many months to come. For those interested in trading have a look at the Darvis system, it's very good especially in the bullish market that we are in at the moment, if you follow the rules you will do well. It's simplicity makes it really good for people with little trading experience His book where all is revealed is "How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market by Nicolas Darvas", it was written in the 60ies but is still very relevant today. I think you can get it from Amazon for about $10. Have a look here for an explanation of his system. http://www.modulusfe.com/mdm/darvas.asp
What do you think of alternative energy stocks? In the past year, just about all the ones I've been watching have gone up from 200% to over 3000%. This looks like a hot sector right now in my opinion.
I trade individual stocks from time to time, but stick mostly with index funds. For stocks, i only use a very small part of my total money - more for the fun and excitement of it.
What was the last stocks you guys bought. I bought shares in unilever recently. Dunno how theyll perform but i think they are fairly stable. What do you think? Jamie
I have two different portfolios with diff. strategies. My ETF portfolio is up 23% so far this year, but my regular portfolio is down 7%. Both portfolios consist of just one stock each. Risky, but it takes guts to be a PIG ^_^